Shadowhunters (2016– ) User Reviews

Hard to enjoy

[AngelHonesty · 5/10 · 10 July 2020]

I enjoyed the books. I know that no movie or show based off of books are nearly as good, so I will not rate this compared to the books, but as a stand alone show.

The acting is beyond dreadful, the lines are cheesy and the plot is very rushed. As always if you love fantasy shows with magic, demons, and such, you might overlook everything else and enjoy it for what it is.

From guilty pleasure to shameless obsession!

[basoirbans · 10/10 · 29 May 2018]

The most important thing I want everyone to know is that it get's better. Much better. If you love the genre, I recommend you watch through the first season as the second season is better and the third season is totally awesome. There are many likeable actors/actresses. The acting is believable. The special effects get noticeably better by the season. I absolutely LOVE the story. This is my favorite genre and I'm glad I watched through the first season even though I wasn't to eager to finish it.

It builds its own version.

[fjustfer-39371 · 8/10 · 9 May 2018]

The new season of Shadowhunters clearly makes a stable foundation of what makes its book counterpart so intriguing. I believe this is the time where it shines and subsumes itself to the character and environment of the book that all readers are familiar of. Season 3 is the stepping stone of what could become a long running show.

My advice, withhold all judgements on the first two seasons and be carried away of the new season.

Now I'm hooked!

[p_bubblegum · 8/10 · 20 February 2018]

I finally got around to watching this series on Netflix after a long delay due to reading a few negative reviews but wanted to finally make my opinion.

Firstly I was interested in the story - I haven't read the books but was introduced to the Shadow Hunter world by the movie so I dont have much to comapre or judge, but it's the same story line I'm most interested in. (There will always be a divide between book and movie/tv versions of any narrative).

Yes I agree the first couple episodes seem a bit lacking but you can't hot a home run straight off the first bat. I kept watching and finding getting more and more drawn in & constantly hitting next episode. I was initially dissapointed there seemed to be only 2 seasons but so excited now it is still continuing because now I'm hooked!

Notes: I think more raw emotion coming from the actors/characters and little less cliche moments will benefit but all characters stories are smooth and not over complicated but detailed that it doesnt create plot holes. Perhaps more focus on the inner character developments so we can get really attached to indivudals backstory and their life choices.

But still I am hanging out for the next season and I recommend at least watching the whole first season before making a judgement call - if it aint your thing fine but dont rain on others parade.

Split Personality

[tradairn · 1/10 · 26 July 2020]

I'v been reading the reviews and I'm glad to know the show improves in Season 2, but I'm on Episode 8 of Season 1 and I'm not sure I can stick with it long enough to get there.

Clary is SOOOO annoying! Both she and Simon overact so badly it's like they walked on to the set by mistake; they belong in some cheesy sitcom. The rest of the cast at least give more restrained performances, but Clary and Simon are on the verge of hysteria the WHOLE TIME - it's exhausting to watch them.

Poorly acted and weak script

[aimtrain1021 · 1/10 · 23 December 2020]

I am almost done with the book series, so I wanted to try the show. Looks wise the cast resembles how I picture the characters, but the acting and dialogue is so poor that it takes away from the story. I am 3 episodes in and it's so cringey. And I like these types of shows-Buffy, Supernatural, Vampire Diaries were all great shows with good casts.

Jace is too nice in the show so far. He is missing the closed off broody vibe from the books. Clary is whiney. Alec is too wooden. It's just off.

Shows or movies based on books are never as good as the books, but they can be acceptable. I love the Harry Potter movies and Hunger Games. You need the right cast with the right acting abilities or it just doesn't work.

WOW......

[dhop-44683 · 1/10 · 31 July 2018]

There's bad acting, then there's Shadowhunters. There's not much more to say really

Delivery lacking

[mr-michael-wood · 4/10 · 13 January 2016]

After the wife and I saw the movie we were disappointed to find out they weren't going to make the next in the series for the big screen. Our woe was turned to hope when we learned that it would instead be turned into a TV series. Sadly the good news stopped there. The sets look good and the story seems to be staying loyal to the book (for the most part), but the major downfall is both the acting and the special effects. The acting seems like that of your average high school drama class, lines that need pauses between them are blurted out quickly and with sloppy delivery, even the body language is lacking in any real commitment. While some of the fight scenes look good for the most part the entire feel of the acting, fighting and effects can be easily summed up as power rangers. To touch quickly on the effects, while TV shows have much smaller budgets than feature length movies I feel some effects should have been left out in favour of old school tricks rather than cheap looking garbage. By far the worst part was seeing the Shadowhunters tech, mixing high tech gadgets with this magical world feels like Bilbo Baggins texting Gandalf for advice.

If even just the acting improves this show could really impress but for now it's underwhelming to frustrating

Just get through S1

[kayjordansibley · 10/10 · 1 May 2018]

Get past S1 and its smooth sailing. I think it needed to find its legs and the actors needed to discover the characters more. And S2 doesn't disappoint. The cast and characters are diverse spaning across the spectrum in personality, ethnicity, and sexuality. Strong women who support each other, men who break free of the stereotypes of true masculinity, badass fight sequences (come S2)...its just good. Though it's a fantasy show, it deals with real world problems with care. The special effects and writing improve greatly in the second season. And this current third season just keeps getting better. Hoping for a season 4!!

Gradually improving, lots of potential. Overall enjoyable to watch.

[edacheeky · 8/10 · 13 April 2016]

Shadowhunters, although not amazing and award-worthy, is still relatively enjoyable to watch. There are many aspects of the TV show that need improvement, but that doesn't mean that there aren't things the show has nailed. I personally have not read TMI yet and I feel that people are comparing the book and TV series too scrutinously. I feel that having not read the books has helped me enjoy the show rather than be frustrated that the show isn't sticking to the books. Among the cons, the acting of certain characters is quite cringe-worthy although some are new to acting so we can't judge them on this. The script was also pretty cheesy, but then again it reflects the target audience. Let's just hope that'll improve later on. Apart from that, I think a lot of us can agree that the institute design was not that great, it was way too techy and didn't feel homely at all. The pros, on the other hand, include SIMON! Simon is amazing in all respects! Alec and Isabelle were great throughout. Jace's character improved towards the end of season 1 which is great. I didn't know how to feel about Magnus at first but currently, at the close of season 1, I'm liking his character which is very much like Jack Sparrow, as youtuber Christine Riccio pointed out. With regards to Clary, I love her relationship with Simon, apart from that I don't think she grew much until towards the end of season 1, like Jace. I'm hoping for more improvement regarding the characters in the upcoming season.

One thing I had minor issues with was an episode - and I can't remember which episode - where it was just really overly trying to be sexual. There were so many implied sexual scenes, undressing, kissing, etc. and it all happened in that one episode. They might as well have just named the episode "Everybody's having sex". I don't know I felt like that was all so forced and I felt slightly uncomfortable, like it was a little forced as if the producers/screenwriters/whoever were like "lets just put some sex in". Although I do understand that it did sort of serve the plot, I think it was a bit unnecessary considering the original target audience - I'm a little confused now, like who's the real target audience? I feel like different aspects of the TV show are reflecting different target audiences.

With regards to the plot, I felt as though some things were all over the place, aspects of the plot didn't advance until end of season 1 in a rush to cram things in. But I can understand why, because I mean, they had to keep the audience interested/satisfied enough throughout the series so that they could invest in a second season which will hopefully advance the plot much better.

Knowing that freeform has rights over TID as well as TMI, I'm excited to see the incorporation of both stories into Shadowhunters, or if not, I'm dearly hoping that they'll give TID its own separate TV show.

But yeah, regardless, the show had a slow start, but it is gradually improving, and it has potential to be great in season 2!

So overall there are things it needs to work on, but the show is still entertaining to watch. I'm excited for season 2 and hopefully many more seasons to come!

Terrible Acting, Ruined an amazing book series!

[krystaljain · 2/10 · 27 July 2020]

Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Claire is an amazing book series and this web series has done a huge injustice to it. I was utterly disappointed on watching the episodes and couldn't get past a few. The acting is just terrible. There are no expressions on the cast's faces, the scenes look very disconnected, the way that the storyline is displayed is hugely disappointing.

Season 2 and 3 are amazing ! Give it a chance

[morganazenpet · 10/10 · 10 May 2018]

Season 1 is more of an introduction and not as good . But season 2 and 3 are SO GOOD! It almost seems like it's a new show , the story is better, the acting is on point and the special effects are amazing . Give it a chance .

A New Shadow World Worth Exploring

[Grey2black · 7/10 · 13 April 2016]

I've read almost all the books, but the story of Clary, Jace, Simon, Isabelle, Alec and Magnus... That one I know from start to finish. Can't say I appreciate the movie, but I've found this TV show to be quite interesting. Sure, it has deviated from the books, but I hardly know a TV show based on a book that hasn't. Even movies do it all the time. So I gave it a shot and I'm willing to follow it through. If I wanted to see the story of the books then I'd read the books. When I watch Shadowhunters is really to see what they're willing to do differently. And so far although it hasn't been great, it isn't poor either. I've found it to be a good show to follow. And until it becomes impossible to watch then I'll continue seeing it.

Also true that the cast is a little green and that shows quite well, especially in the scenes that would require more emotion more deep into it. But seeing most are newcomers I'm more than willing to let that slide.

All in all I believe if people go into this with a open mind and not expect to see what they read in the books they'll appreciate it for the value it has.

Much better than others would lead you to believe

[dontpanik · 7/10 · 13 January 2016]

Let me start by saying that I loved the books and hated the movie so much I tried to get through it twice and never made it beyond the first 15 minutes. Does this stick completely to the books? No, of course not. It follows the story line much better than the movie. Remember, this isn't a mini series so they need to set up a broader world. The characters are true to type and so much better cast than the crappy movie. I can already see that I am going to like Simon. He's pretty much exactly like in the book and bonus, Alec doesn't look like one of their dads :D. 1pilots are almost always meh and require setting up the premise so don't worry about it being plot heavy. They settle in nicely in the second episode. (already on Hulu plus a week in advance). Give it a shot if you like the books.

Do the actors get paid for this?

[bans_004 · 3/10 · 13 January 2016]

I had been looking forward to this for a while. After realizing the movie series might not have received a second go.

Unfortunately, it seemed like something that a group of friends with a camera would come up with. Most of the time they would've come up with something better! Cheap props, incoherent background music and miserable acting just ruined the mood of the show. As if it were hard to afford something better than plastic swords and school-goers for actors. The drawbacks are bared specially during the actions or with the effects.

The (only?) positive would be the screen writing for now. Would give it a shot with a few more episodes. Really hope they redeem the show.

just give it a go.

[alicialouba · 10/10 · 17 February 2016]

Give this show a chance. Just do it. People are complaining that the first episode was crap. I hope people realize that for some of the cast this is their major big break. Besides, it gets so much better! I'm sick of all the reviews that were published right after the first episode was released and people are listening to it as they think that is for the entire show when it is not. So, do the people who actually have waited for this show since March and are actually enjoying it, and don't spread negative hate around social media and whatnot because I surely am not the only one to see the show expand and explore. Not saying everyone has to like it, but please don't brainwash other people into thinking it is bad when it's not. Feel free to disagree with me, I only made this account to post this review, ha ha.

Just get throught season 1 and its gonna be great

[M8K9S · 10/10 · 15 May 2018]

First I was confused coz the movie wasnt that interesting for me..if I should watch it but I gave a try. Just get thorugh the season 1 and its gonna be great!! Season 2 and season 3 are amazing. I think the show is underrated coz people gave up so fast in season 1 which is not countable a lot of TV series need their time to grow! I would deff cancel The 100 etc..to gave this show next seasons to go.

Appreciate the movie so much more now...

[lyndadaneliuk · 2/10 · 2 August 2021]

Glad some folks are liking this, but the acting is extremely unfortunate. There's no real character development, wooden line reading, and they did a terrible job of introducing the story. Not much to say except I tried to like it as it's a fun story, but this is worse than CW creations.

Stick to the Books!

[dfreyberg_rocks · 1/10 · 21 May 2020]

I gave this series a chance. I watched through every episode from the first season, to the last. And while the acting was alright, the series butchered the hell out of Cassandra Clare's beloved series.

The books are so much better. If you're a hardcore Cassie fan like I am, just give the adaption a miss.

The show has a humorous yet sweet air to it and becomes more suspenseful over time. No matter the setting though, I really love these characters and absolutely adore Malec.

[Imme-van-Gorp · 9/10 · 23 September 2021]

Season One: 8.5/10

Season Two: 9/10

Season Three: 8/10

Themes: Paranormal, Drama, Friendship, Family, Romance, Lgbtq+, Gay Couple, Love Triangle, Action, Demon Hunters, Vampires, Werewolves & Magic.

Top five characters: 1) Alec Lightwood, 2) Magnus Bane, 3) Simon Lewis, 4) Isabelle Lightwood and 5) Jace Herondale.

Give it a go

[mariashaukat-80351 · 10/10 · 27 October 2017]

This show is amazing. Yes it had a few problems in season one and it took a while for the actors, writers and production crew to adjust and find their rhythm like many shows but season two showed what this show is capable of. This show has everything you could ask for. It has entertainment and good characters as well as well as good rep for pretty much everyone and its just getting started.The first few eps of the show might not be to your taste but everything gets better as it goes along especially the acting, effects and writing and direction. So if you quit in season one then give it another chance and stick with it because season two and especially 2B is amazing and even the last few eps of season one are quite good. It really sets the tone for season two and for 2B to blow our socks off and now hopefully season three will too.

Stop being so judgemental

[DCSassyQueen · 8/10 · 13 January 2016]

Shadowhunters is based of The Mortal Instruments, which is one of my favorite books. I have been stalking this show for the longest while. I was wondering who was going to be cast, looking for set photos on twitter and waiting for a premiere date.

I heard so many negative opinions leading up to the premiere, but I did not let that deter me from watching it. I have to say that I had high, unrealistic expectation and I have to say they were met.

I would not go as far as to say this is the best acting I have ever seen and it was a bit cheesy, but I enjoyed the hell out of the first episode. When the episode was done, I was shocked because it seemed so short. I need more. *feens internally*

I think people are taking this too seriously because I am one of the most judgemental people when it comes t favorite books of mine being turned into a TV show or a movie. Stop bitching and enjoy the fun, entertaining ride.

I love all the characters and I think all of them are portrayed almost exactly as I thought up in my head, but Isabelle and Simon are killing their roles, which is all that matters since they are my favorites in the books (plus Jace).

I will watch the whole season and I really hope it gets a second season.

Overall, I would say I get a high off watching this. Haha. So, my opinion could be entirely biased.

Show for Bored teens nothing more

[SnakeDis · 5/10 · 9 September 2020]

The introduction was somehow decent first episode wasn't totally terrible the gci or i don't know what is called , was amazing showing great potentials but then comes clary or the (actor) first of all every time she speaks doesn't sound normal humanbeing would speak she speaks like she is the living incarnation of drama her acting didn't really make the character make sense at all and the dialogue was so corney i couldn't stand most conversations she made and she is the main character , Frist major flaw Her relationship with Jace i am not aganist romance but do it right all there conversations turns to be corney as hell and away from the point and overall not intersting, The actors didn't make me feel like they are the characters they are providing us poor acting and poor dialogue they had some were good but most of it was bad , Second major thing that doesn't make any sense is her going on missions without even being trained !, Moving on to the main villian for the first season and most of the second one "Valentine" i know that his name might be orginaly from the books but i seriously couldn't take someone called Valentine seriously even when his name comes in converstation i can't make a connection between his name and how serious the situation is , and the villian MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL like he betrayed his orginzation that he swore to serve and betrayed his "brother like" "parptay bond" i guess is called That's actually good made me intersted THEN Never telling us WHY HE DID IT? Gives us No Explination why he did it or Why he got SO MOTIVATED to do it ,Moving on to Clary's mother Now BIG ISSUE HERE Clarey mother had no importance to connect with the audiance we don't know her\seen enough of her to even care about her being kidnapped or to relate with what the main character felt when her mother died , Her mother had no VALUE in the show what so ever except being a motivation for the main character that's why when she died noone cared Then when clarey mother actually died clarey didn't express any emotion like your mother you were trying to save died A Horrible death two minutes ago And continue to say that she is : Okay, like why the hell were you so motivated to SAVE HER if you didn't care about her from the BEGINING??!!, it Simply doesn't make anysense it's a show for bored teens no more no less Even in that case you Watch this if it's your last resort.

Just get past S1

[kayjordansibley · 10/10 · 1 May 2018]

I'll admit that the first season is lacking in comparison to what follows after it. The special effects and acting are bit cringe-worthy at times. But as the show heads into its S2 it is soooooo much better. It is better paced, better acted as I think the actors know their characters more and the writing really picks up. The cast has great diversity and the characters themselves are all over the spectrum in personality, ethnicity, and sexuality. Though a world of fantasy, it covers real world topics with care and attention. A great show. S3 gets better each episode and I hope there's a S4

It's addicting

[bhabyk · 8/10 · 10 May 2019]

The first season was totally rocky but, you will become addicted to the show! The love interests, magic and action will be a big relief from the modern, tech reliant shows we see now a days. Give it a chance.